New NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll: Obama, Romney Locked in Tight Race for the Presidency

At the Wall Street Journal, "Obama, Romney Toe to Toe: Poll Finds Economy Hurts President, but Rival Has Concerns" (via Google):

Voters remain deeply pessimistic about the nation's future and uncertain of President Barack Obama's ability to set the economy on the right course, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll that found Mr. Obama locked in a tight race with Mitt Romney.

The president tops the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, 47% to 43%, when Americans are asked their choice today for president, a lead little changed from last month and within the poll's margin of error.

But the poll found much to stir concern within the burgeoning Obama re-election campaign. Despite signs of economic recovery, nearly half of Americans said the country is at the start of a long-term decline. Americans by a sizable plurality said Mr. Obama's approach has worsened the nation's budget deficit and health-care problems, and increased its partisan divide.

After emerging last month as the all-but-certain Republican nominee, Mr. Romney is consolidating support among conservatives, the poll found, and much of the public is open to the idea that his business background would help him improve the economy.

His supporters express more enthusiasm about the election than do Mr. Obama's.

But the former Massachusetts governor faces his own challenges. He has yet to engender deep confidence in his economic policies, the core of his campaign pitch. Three-quarters of respondents said they were only somewhat confident or not confident at all that Mr. Romney had the right ideas to improve the economy. And nearly three in 10 said electing a Mormon president would cause them or their neighbors concern, including one-quarter of independents.

In all, the poll of 1,000 Americans found abundant signs of a hardening of opinion toward both Mr. Obama and his GOP rival as both camps and the new breed of independent "super" political action committees prepare to spend upward of $2 billion competing for a dwindling slice of undecided voters in a handful of states.

"Never before will so much money be spent by so many to persuade so few," said Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who directed the poll along with Republican Bill McInturff.

The poll found a striking symmetry in the pessimism Americans express about whether either candidate can nudge the country in the right direction.

Asked to weigh their faith in the men, around a third of respondents expressed confidence that Mr. Obama would bring the right kind of change, with a nearly equal share saying the same of Mr. Romney. But large majorities said the two would bring either no change or the wrong kind of change, reflecting a general lack of optimism about the election's outcome.

Based on the poll and other data, Mr. Hart put Mr. Obama's chances of re-election in November at "no better than 50/50."

Incumbents win, Mr. Hart said, "when voters are buoyant with the economic times." At this point, he said, Mr. Obama "is in the Twilight Zone—neither safe nor gone," while signs that the public sees an economic upturn "have yet to appear."

See also First Read, "NBC/WSJ poll: Obama, Romney locked in tight contest." (Via Memeorandum.)

And Allahpundit notes this about the poll's sample:

Last month’s WSJ poll had it 43D/39R/14I if you included leaners. The new poll: 44D/36R/16I. The spread between Democrats and Republicans has increased by four points since April — and yet O’s lead over Romney has shrunk by two points. Hmmmm.

Actually, most polls have oversampled Democrats and still found Obama to be struggling, especially on the economy. Indeed, WSJ's sweet spot is the electorate's favorable views of Romney's Bain experience, especially for improving the economy and handling the nation's debt.

That said, the bottom line for me is that as much as any election in recent history, the campaigns are going to matter enormously --- the messaging and the mobilization especially. And on both those counts the Democrats are not holding up too well.

Note William Jacobson's post from this morning, "For the first time in my adult life I believe Romney might beat Obama":

Why now?

Because Team Obama is proving itself to be too smart by half, and too incompetent by three-quarters.

And on mobilization, see Gerald Seib, "As in 2004, energizing the base a key to victory."

RELATED: The background on that video at top, from Politico, "Exclusive: RNC slams Obama campaign for Cory Booker 'cover-up'."

Brett Kimberlin Death Threats Against Robert Stacy McCain?

I don't know, actually.

Robert Stacy McCain wrote yesterday that the police had been notified about the suspicious behavior of Brett Kimberlin, so my first thought was that Robert and his family were in physical danger. See: "Never Doubt That God Answers Prayer."

Kimberlin is a convicted terrorist bomber, so you can't be too careful under the circumstances. As of yesterday, Robert has been blogging from an undisclosed location, and he has updated this morning: "Brett Kimberlin Saga Takes a Bizarre Turn, Forcing Me to Leave Maryland""

My own encounter with Kimberlin’s attempted intimidation appears typical of his modus operandi, which students of psychology recognize as the habitual behavior of a deviant sociopath: Attempting to distract from his own malevolent actions by accusing his targeted enemies of doing to him what he is doing to them – and to many others. Several sources to whom I have spoken in recent days, who for obvious reasons wish to remain anonymous, have expressed suspicion that Kimberlin is doing this not only to hide his criminal past, but also in a misguided attempt to conceal his current malicious (and perhaps felonious) activities.

These are not accusations I make; rather, these are crucial elements of a newsworthy story that I am attempting to report. Kimberlin seems to be determined to prevent me – or anyone else – from reporting this story. In order to continue reporting it, without jeopardizing the safety of my family and other innocent people, I have been compelled to leave Maryland. Many people have responded to my appeal for prayer and financial assistance in this difficult crisis, but it is important to emphasize that this story is not about me.

Continue reading at the link. And be sure to hit Robert's tip jar --- I just did.

My previous entries are here: "Criminal Attacks on Conservative Bloggers: Update on Brett Kimberlin Intimidation Network," and "Convicted Terrorist Brett Kimberlin and the Left's Political (and Criminal) Intimidation Network."

And don't forget Aaron Worthing!

Aaron has been the primary target of these latest Kimberlin attacks, and he has an update: "“The More You Tighten Your Grip”: Brett Kimberlin’s Latest Petition For a Peace Order."

And Patterico weighs in on the latest developments:

Kimberlin and his crew have relentlessly harassed Aaron, me, and others over the course of the last several months. It is not harassment for us to tell the world what happened to us. It could happen to any of you. His supporters have outed or threatened to out commenters to this very site. They talk about wives, children, and fathers of bloggers and commenters. They ceaselessly abuse everyone they can who speaks the truth about Kimberlin’s past.

Ultimately, this is a free speech issue. Kimberlin and his group of thugs have done their level best to attack everyone in the blogosphere who wrote anything negative about him. Now the blogosphere is starting to wake up, and there are so many critics he can’t possibly intimidate them all.

But you can see he’s still trying.

So with that, here's a roundup of others blogging:

* An Ex-Con's Views, "We Are All Victims of Brett Kimberlin."

* Blazing Cat Fur, "Brett Kimberlin - Lunatic."

* Bob Belvedere, "ALERT: Stacy McCain And Family Forced To Flee Threats."

* Common American Journal, "Robert Stacy McCain and his family flee for safety. Credible threats from leftist terrorist and convicted felon Brett Kimberlin."

* Darleen Click, "RS McCain – undisclosed location."

* Film Ladd, "Politics Unusual: Stacy McCain Flees Home; Social Media Gate Breaks All the Rules."

* Gator Doug, "Funny thing about God and prayers."

* Glenn Reynolds, "BRETT KIMBERLIN UPDATE..."

* Israel Matzav, "OMG: Blogger threatened by terrorist."

* Kathy Shaidle, "Gee, this sounds SO familiar… if only I could put my finger on it…."

* Lady Liberty, "Babs Streisand and “Activist Funding”."

* Lonely Conservative, "Stacy McCain and Family Leave Town After Threats from Domestic Terrorist."

* Small Dead Animals, "The Tolerant Left."

* Sundries Shack, "Clearing the Browser Tabs – Go Help a Brother Out Who Needs Your Back-Up."

* That Mr. G. Guy, "#DangerousDoofus #BrettKimberlin Threatens Another Conservative Blogger."

* Truth Before Dishonor, "Brad Friedman and Speedway Bomber Brett Kimberlin: Practitioners of the Stalking and Thuggery They Claim to Decry."

*****

I think that's it for now.

My previous link roundup is here.

Add your latest link in the comments if you're blogging, and I'll update.

Obama Defends Attacks on Romney's Record at Bain

See the New York Times, "Facing Criticism, Obama Defends Ads Attacking Romney’s Record at Bain Capital" (via Memeorandum).

IMAGE CREDIT: The People's Cube.

Behind Obama's Bain-Bashing

FWIW, from Beth Reinhard at National Journal, "Why Obama Is Doubling Down on Bain Capital Attacks Against Romney":

Why is President Obama’s reelection campaign doubling down on its attacks on Mitt Romney’s business record at Bain Capital, despite blowback from some supporters? Because they might work.

While many voters recall an image of "hope" and "change" from Obama’s successful 2008 campaign, he ran as many negative ads as GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona—and sometimes more. The message in those 2008 ads wasn’t so different from the anti-Romney theme today: The Republican nominee favors the wealthy at the expense of the struggling middle class. Voters bought it.

Lessons from two other campaigns also illuminate Obama’s strategy in going after Romney’s record at Bain Capital. In President Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign, the military record and foreign-policy experience of Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts was nullified with strident criticism of his Vietnam service and changing position on the war in Iraq. Similarly, Obama is trying to take one of Romney’s greatest assets in an economy-focused campaign—his business success—and turn it into a liability.

The other race shaping the 2012 campaign is Romney’s defeat at the hands of Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy in 1994. The Indiana paper company that was the subject of the anti-Romney attack on Monday, Ampad, marked a turning point in that year's Massachusetts Senate race. After Bain bought the company in 1992 and used it to acquire a paper factory, workers were laid off and then rehired at lower wages and benefits. The company ultimately went bankrupt, yet Bain made millions. Ads about the saga helped Kennedy leap over Romney in the polls.

“Obama is absolutely doing the right thing," said longtime Democratic strategist Bob Shrum, who helped run Kennedy’s campaign. “This is a very powerful issue. I saw its power in 1994. Romney was unprepared to deal with it well then, and he’s unprepared to deal with it well now."

More at that top link.

Actually, I think Reinhard's a little too in the tank for O.

But if these scurrilous attacks deflect attention from the Democrat's failed record on the economy, perhaps she's got a point.

Either way, see my earlier report, "'Big Bain Backfire'."

Associated Press Declared Obama 'Kenyan-Born' in Report on 2004 U.S. Senate Race From Illinois - UPDATED!

UPDATE: Yid With Lid sends this along: "BREAKING- 2004 AP "Keynan-Born Obama" Phrase NOT From Associated Press."

Associated Press didn't not run the headline, just the main body of the story that ran in the Sunday Standard.

Either way, the fact remains the Obamas were only too happy to push the "Kenyan-born" meme. There are so many angles of duplicity now it's ridiculous.

**********

I just personally find this amazing, utterly amazing.

Recall that in 2007 the Obamas were campaigning for the Democrat nomination and touting Barack's Kenyan ancestry. So here's this news out that in 2004 AP was pumping up Obama as "Kenyan-born" in its reporting on the U.S. Senate race for Illinois. Maggie's Notebook has the report: "2004 Headline: Kenyan-born Obama Set for US Senate."

And see "INS Doc Found: U.S. Certificate Issued to One East African-Born Child of U.S. Citizen in 1961!" (via Radio Patriot).

This is frankly WND territory, for example, "Lou Dobbs Mystified by Obama-Birth 'Taboo'." But as reported widely among conservatives, it's clear that the Obamas were eager to tout Barack's Kenyan heritage right up to the 2008 presidential race. But as the story broke last week, the Democrat-Media-Complex was quick to attack the new "birther" controversy, and the explanation quickly became that a mistake was made with the initial press release reported by Breitbart the other day. Thus, the Daily Caller asks: "If Obama’s false claim of Kenyan birth was just a fact-checking error, why did it take over 15 years to fact-check it?"

But as I reported earlier, there's been too many rookie mistakes made by those on the professional left. It's going to add up and some of the stories will be too big even for the subdued Mitt Romney to avoid. We're reaching a breaking point for the Democrats. I'm more confident than ever that Barack's going to be blown out of the water in November.

See also: "Obama's Lit Agency Used 'Born in Kenya' Bio Until 2007."

IMAGE CREDIT: The Looking Spoon, "Obama's World Famous Kenyan Spaghetti Maker."

Commemorating 100 Years of Marine Corps Aviation

Via Theo Spark:

'Big Bain Backfire'

The Obama-Democrats are taking hits left and right.

Honestly, if things continue to go the way they're going, they'll be hit with the biggest presidential blowout since 1964. President Johnson was elected in his own right that year with 61.1 percent of the popular vote and the Democrats controlled the 89th Congress, starting in 1965, with a 295 to 140 majority in the House and a 65 to 35 seat majority in the Senate. Sure, that sounds miraculous, but with this economy and the circular firing squad of the Democrat Party's professional left, 2012 could at least beat the 1980 election, when Republican Ronald Reagan took 50.7 percent of the popular vote compared to 41 percent for incumbent Jimmy Carter (third party candidate John Anderson ran as an independent, taking 6.6 percent of the vote). Reagan in 1980 also took the Electoral College 489 to Carter's 49 .

It's still early, but if mainstream Democrat-Media-Complex outlets like ABC News start turning on the administration, things can't be looking good. See, "Obama Campaign Does Damage Control After Dems Question Anti-Bain Strategy" (via Memeorandum):

Chief Obama strategist David Axelrod today publicly rebuked Booker, a popular and high-profile surrogate for the campaign, saying he was “just wrong”....

Republicans have been gleeful with the apparent divide among Democrats over the portrayal of Romney’s Bain days.  The Romney campaign produced a web video – “Big Bain Backfire” – highlighting the comments, while the Republican National Committee purchased ads on Twitter to play up the Booker flap.

Here's the Romney ad:

More at Memeorandum.

Whoa! Bar Refaeli Tops Maxim's 2012 Hot 100!

Maxim did quite a number with this project.

Bar Refaeli is here.

But see it all: "2012 Hot 100."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Bar Refaeli tops Maxim hot list; her secrets to sexiness helped."

Trayvon Martin Fight Club Video

Blazing Cat Fur reports, "Trayvon at the fight club..."

Blazing has the video on LiveLeak.

YouTube pulled the clip, but here's another. Trayvon Martin is said to be wearing the striped shirt and white cap:


And check the report at The Last Refuge: "Trayvon’s Fight Club – The Inconvenient Truth."

Plus, from Doctor Zero, at Human Events, "The Zimmerman case disintegrates: Beating people up because they looked at you funny is wrong":

The release of evidence in George Zimmerman’s murder trial quickly made a mockery of his second-degree murder charges, and threw a further layer of shame upon media and political opportunists who misrepresented a tragic, but fairly straightforward, case of lethal force employed in self-defense.

It is remarkable to take stock of this evidence and realize that it supports every single aspect of Zimmerman’s statement to the police.  His injuries are consistent with his account of physical assault by Trayvon Martin.  Martin’s gunshot wound occurred at the very short range described by Zimmerman, demolishing fantasies about a racist mall-cop wannabe stalking and murdering an innocent black kid for no reason...

Continue reading.

Suicide Bomber Kills Scores at Yemen Military Parade — On Cue, Los Angeles Times Warns Against Mission Creep in Arabian Peninsula

Well, it was almost 100, so I'm putting the number of killed in the scores. The Los Angeles Times says dozens, but who's counting?

See: "Suicide bomber kills dozens of soldiers in Yemen."

And the Times goes after the Obama administration for escalating the terror war in Yemen? I must be dreaming. From the editors, "Mission creep in Yemen":

As the United States finally begins to wind down its military presence in Afghanistan, is the Obama administration poised to replicate that intervention in Yemen? The administration insists it has no such plans, but it has been evident for months that it regards the Yemen-based group Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as the most dangerous incubator of terrorist plots directed at America. And it is acting on that conviction.

This week The Times reported that U.S. special operations troops, which were withdrawn from Yemen last year amid political turmoil in that country, have returned and are providing technical assistance to Yemeni forces. Meanwhile, at least 18 U.S. military and drone strikes have been reported against Islamist targets in Yemen since early March, a significant upsurge, and the CIA is active there....

Given the experience of the U.S. in Afghanistan, where a mission to dislodge Al Qaeda and the Taliban morphed into a decade-long exercise in counterinsurgency and nation-building, it is hardly alarmist to worry that similar mission creep might occur in Yemen, especially as the U.S. becomes more invested in the Hadi government. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula isn't the only threat to the new regime. Islamic militants have established an "emirate" in southern Yemen.

No one should belittle the danger posed by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. There is clearly a need for intelligence operations such as the one that thwarted a conspiracy to construct a potentially undetectable bomb in the month before the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death. What President Obama — or Mitt Romney, if he is elected in November — must avoid is the sort of expansive intervention that has enmeshed this country in Afghanistan.

Right.

No one should belittle the danger, but let's not be too hasty to fight the terrorists on their home ground!

You'd think the country elected John McCain, or something. Sheesh.

Bain Capitalism 101

At the Wall Street Journal, "How does a rapacious company get repeat business?":

Watching Obama campaign ads or MSNBC, one could easily come to the conclusion that Bain Capital makes money by destroying the companies it owns. So for voters unsure about the business that Mitt Romney founded but still reluctant to trust the financial analysis offered by community organizers, some perspective might be helpful.

The basic Obama-liberal critique goes like this: Bain buys a company, loads it with debt and then sucks out cash before foisting the wounded business upon an unsuspecting buyer or a bankruptcy court. In the risk-taking world of private equity such a scenario can certainly happen, and it's true that Bain likes management fees and dividends as much as the next partnership.

But then how to explain the history of Bain Capital? Mr. Romney started the business in 1984. The company has since bought and sold many businesses and executed thousands of financing transactions....

Learning about Bain successes like Staples or Gartner or Steel Dynamics confirms the logical conclusion that Bain had to be creating value along the way—for investors, for lenders, and that means for workers too.

This is going to be a topic to watch. The left's hypocrisy on the economy is astounding, but the Democrat-Media-Complex will give the administration a pass --- well, excluding some genuinely decent reporters like Ashleigh Banfield who slammed Obama shill Ben LaBolt for that advertising hit piece posted above. That said, Romney's going to need to make the case for the virtues of the free market and the power of private equity to vitalize and invigorate the business sector. I was watching Kim Strassel on yesterday's Journal Editorial Report and that was her argument. The Democrat attacks on the wealthy --- like the Ricketts group --- are purely political and frankly demonic. But to counter this the Romney campaign has to be quick on the air with the corrective messaging. They have to remember that they're running against the media too.

Joshua Micah Marshall: Talking Points Memo 'Is Not a Website'

This is an interesting report, from Nieman Journalism Lab, "When is a website not a website? For Talking Points Memo, the turning point was in 2012":

As of late March, mobile — smartphones and tablets — accounted for 19 percent of TPM traffic. By early May, when I sat down with Marshall in his New York office, mobile traffic to TPM had passed the 20 percent mark.

“I don’t have much doubt that that number will be 30 or 40 percent in the next year or two,” Marshall said. “My only question is at what point tablets overtake smartphones.”

So what does this realization mean, from a practical standpoint, for TPM?

“More than anything else we had to shift our own thinking, because that was constraining with how you do things on mobile,” Marshall said. “Realizing that TPM is not a website — it’s a bundle of knowledge and expertise and ongoing coverage that exists inherently on no particular platform, and we are consitently trying to find ways to make it adaptable on as many platforms as possible.”

But the rethinking process also means rejecting the idea that TPM content can be one-size-fits-all, which deputy publisher Callie Schweitzer calls “a game-changer for all publishers.”

“We’re giving a lot of thought to three different kinds of consumption: Active consumption being at the desktop, on-the-go consumption being on your mobile phone, and passive consumption being in your bed, on your tablet, something like that,” Schweitzer said. “For me, it’s literally about the physical way you’re doing it. You can certainly actively consume at all of those different places but when you’re reclining, looking at a beautiful visual on an iPad, it’s very different than being on a mobile phone or sitting at a desktop.”

I've noticed some folks have been reading American Power on their mobile devices. If you haven't yet, but are thinking about it, here's the mobile URL: http://americanpowerblog.blogspot.com/?m=1. Looking at that link, most of the photos and embedded videos are showing up just fine. So bookmark the blog on your devices and you'll be good to go.

P.S. While I don't agree politically with Josh Marshall, I think they're doing a pretty good job over there --- and you may have noticed that I use their videos a lot.

Gay Marriage Bigots Attack 16-Year Old North Carolina Conservative Madeleine McAulay

This super intelligent young lady made a great YouTube vlog and the progressive bigots came after her like the devil himself.

See: "re: Vulgar Comments from “Controversies of Gay Marriage”."

She's a good young lady!

And see Fox News Charlotte: "Political Prodigy."

How Much Does the Average American Know About Obama's Autobiography?

This is a great clip.

These are man and woman interviews in the street, and some of these folks seem predisposed towards liking Obama. I love the dude who says, "Whoa. That's deep."

And I suspect Reaganite will enjoy this segment.

Laura Ingraham Slams Left's Double Standards on New York Times Ricketts-Romney Hit Piece

This is really good. Ingraham's on fire.

Via NewsBusters, "Laura Ingraham Schools George Stephanopoulos: 'Did Obama Give That Money Back to Bill Maher?'"

And more here, "George Will and Laura Ingraham Slam NYT for Rev. Wright Romney Super PAC Piece."

Jessica Rafalowski Swimsuit Hottie!

I mentioned Jessica Rafalowski the other day.

She's on Twitter as well.

NewsBusted: Elizabeth Warren Under Fire for False Claims of Native American Status

Via NewsBusters:

Aesha Mohammadzai Rebuilding Her Life in America After Being Horribly Disfigured in Afghanistan

CNN reports, "Saving Aesha":

Since arriving in America less than two years ago, she’s lived in three cities. She’s been showcased like a star and protected like a fragile child. She’s been passed around by well-meaning strangers, embraced by a team of women. And she’s gone after a family of her own.

Back and forth she goes, flying forward, reaching skyward.

How the Mormon Church Shaped Mitt Romney

Here's the big biography piece at the New York Times yesterday, "Romney’s Faith, Silent but Deep."

Ann Althouse calls this fascinating: "'Mitt and Ann Romney’s marriage is strong because they believe they will live together in an eternal afterlife...'"

But Joel Pollak isn't fascinated at all, at Big Journalism, "NY Times Ignored Obama's Wright, Focuses on Romney's Mormon Faith."

And pro-Romney blogger Jennifer Rubin goes after the Times, "The Mormon obsession":

The piece is a troubling, and in many cases a bizarre, attempt to picture Romney as “The Mormon candidate,” a standard that would repel most Americans if applied to another faith.

Word.

Protesters Flood Streets of Chicago Chanting 'Eat the Rich, Smash the State'

Via Glenn Reynolds:

#OCCUPYSELFPARODY: “Eat The Rich And Smash The State.” Remember, these are the folks for whom Elizabeth Warren was claiming intellectual parentage.

[VIDEO PULLED]

Bee Gees' Robin Gibb Dies at 62

An obituary at the New York Times, "Robin Gibb, a Bee Gee With a Taciturn Manner, Dies at 62":

Robin Gibb, one of the three singing brothers of the Bee Gees, the long-running Anglo-Australian pop group whose chirping falsettos and hook-laden disco hits like “Jive Talkin’ ” and “You Should Be Dancing” shot them to worldwide fame in the 1970s, died on Sunday in London. He was 62 and lived in Thame, Oxfordshire, England.

The cause was complications of cancer and intestinal surgery, his family said in a statement.

Mr. Gibb had been hospitalized for intestinal problems several times in the last two years. Cancer had spread from his colon to his liver, and in the weeks before his death he contracted pneumonia and for a while was in a coma.

Mr. Gibb was the second Bee Gee and third Gibb brother to die. His fraternal twin and fellow Bee Gee, Maurice Gibb, died of complications of a twisted intestine in 2003 at 53. The youngest brother, Andy, who had a successful solo career, was 30 when he died of heart failure, in 1988.

With brilliant smiles, polished funk and adenoidal close harmonies, the Bee Gees — Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb — were disco’s ambassadors to Middle America in the mid to late 1970s, embodying the peacocked look of the time in their open-chested leisure suits and gold medallions.

They sold well over 100 million albums and had six consecutive No. 1 singles from 1977 to 1979. They were also inextricably tied to the disco era’s defining movie, “Saturday Night Fever,” a showcase for their music that included the hit “Stayin’ Alive,” its propulsive beat in step with the strut of the film’s star, John Travolta.

But the group, whose first record came out in 1963, had a history that preceded its disco hits, starting with upbeat ditties inspired by the Everly Brothers and the Beatles, then with lachrymose ballads like “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.”

Barry, the oldest brother, was the dominant Bee Gee for most of the group’s existence. But the lead singer for many of the early hits was Robin, whose breaking voice, gaunt frame and gloomy eyes were well suited to convey adolescent fragility. “I Started a Joke” (with the second line, “Which started the whole world crying”), “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You,” “Massachusetts” and other heavy-hearted songs dripping with strings brought the Bee Gees to the top of the charts as one of the British Invasion’s most musically conservative groups.

“While other guys, like Ray Davies of the Kinks, were writing about social problems, we were writing about emotions,” Robin Gibb told a British newspaper last year. “They were something boys didn’t write about then because it was seen as a bit soft. But people love songs that melt your heart.”

More at the link.

I was in high school when the Bee Gees were tops in the pops. I think my older sister was more into them than I was, but you couldn't not like the Bee Gees. They were so crucial a cultural force.

William Jacobson has more, "Robin Gibb, R.I.P.":

This one hurts. I grew up knowing so many of the Bee Gees early songs by heart.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers Fights Left's War on Women, Is Rising Force in Politics

At Newsmax, "'War on Women' Catapults McMorris Rodgers into Spotlight."

The report mentions a recent Daily Kos hit piece suggesting that McMorris Rodgers needs to be "taken out." See, "Matthews Rattles Lying Mouthpiece McMorris Rodgers":

I find Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers particularly annoying. I think she's just about the biggest sellout to women there is. I hope she gets more effective challanges as time goes on. Would love to see some dirt dug up that takes her out of the picture. I really hate this.

"Particularly annoying" because she's obviously particularly effective in debunking the left's lies. So she's being targeted. No surprise. The left can't win on the merits so the mount the politics of personal destruction and intimidation.

Kudos to McMorris Rodgers for standing her ground.

L.A. Metro Bus Driver Fatally Shot by Passenger in West Hollywood

This is an awful story.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Metro bus driver shot, killed in West Hollywood."

And see the video report from KABC 7 Los Angeles, "Metro bus driver shot dead by passenger in West Hollywood."

That's So Gay-ven!

Hey, she says she's happy living her life in freedom:

'I'm living my PERSONAL life the way I'm happiest," the 26-year-old tweeted to her 350,000 followers.

See London's Daily Mail, "Setting the record straight: Raven-Symoné takes to her Twitter to address gay rumours."

Angels' Mike Scioscia Could Be On the Way Out at Anaheim

He's had a long run.

See the reports, at Chicago Tribune, "Scioscia no longer all powerful with Angels."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Is this the dawning of the end of the Age of Mike Scioscia?":

No one anticipated the Angels would coax the superstar first baseman away from the only team he had ever known, from the fans that had adored him. Yet the Angels swooped in, signed him to the richest contract in franchise history and set sail for October.

Then the season started. Soon after, so did the defeats, the dissension, and the dismissals.

Albert Pujols, meet Mo Vaughn.

This could be 1999 all over again. By the time the debacle of Vaughn's debut season was over, the players had staged a mutiny and the ownership had cleaned house.

The Angels hired Mike Scioscia the next year, the start of the most successful run in franchise history. However, after Tuesday's firing of his close friend and hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, you wonder if that run might be coming to an end.

Angels owner Arte Moreno cleaned house in the front office last winter. Scioscia remained, but the big chill between him and new General Manager Jerry Dipoto might make coexistence a tenuous proposition.

When Scioscia met with the media before Wednesday's game, he held a red fungo bat so tightly he almost squeezed it into sawdust. He spoke tersely, letting everyone know that firing Hatcher was not his idea.

"We respect the job the general manager has to do," Scioscia said.

I've been expecting this for a while. Like I said, it's been a long run. And there's been no World Series championship since 2002. That kind of drought is embarrassing, considering how much Moreno's invested in this team. I doubt his patience lasts much longer.

PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons.

Ethics Condemnation Follows Elizabeth Warren's 'Pow Wow Chow' Cookbook Revelations

This should be a huge story, but the left's corrupt Democrat-Media-Complex refuses to report factually and honestly.

See the report from Michael Patrick Leahy, at Big Government, "Will Harvard Law School Condemn Elizabeth Warren for Pow Wow Chow Plagiarism?"

Following the links takes us to Jack Marshall's essay, at Ethics Alarms, "The Significance of “Pow Wow Chow”."

There is mostly bad ethics news for Elizabeth Warren fans from the re-discovery of the 1984 cookbook she contributed to called “Pow Wow Chow,” but some good news too. The good news is that the 28 year-old cook book, edited by her cousin and listing the current Harvard professor and Democratic Senate contender as a contributor named “Elizabeth Warren, Cherokee,” shows that Warren didn’t just concoct her claims of Cherokee heritage to achieve minority status to help her get faculty jobs through university diversity hiring policies. Oh, she intentionally employed her dubious heritage credentials to get that edge, no doubt about it. But the cookbook shows that though she was only 1/32 Native American by the most generous calculations and was assuming that lineage on the basis of hearsay alone, Elizabeth Warren really had convinced herself that she is a Cherokee, and probably believes it to this day. Hence her obsession with being able to call herself a Native American appears less opportunistic and more, well, nuts....

In fact, it looks like a severe case of Sixties Liberal Delusion Syndrome, also known as Billy Jack Disease. Warren talks and writes like a stereotype campus liberal, and like her Sixties campus forbears, she must have figured out in early adulthood that kinship with oppressed minorities is the antidote to white guilt and the ticket to a perpetual state of self-righteousness and victimization. If my diagnosis is correct,  Warren’s lockstep liberal mindset seized upon her family lore about American Indian heritage, and installed it as a cornerstone of her self-image as a foe of the capitalist, white-dominated American power structure. I am sorry I doubted her; I now think it is likely that she has long thought of herself as a true Cherokee. True, I think that is ridiculous; I think extending that attenuated minority identification into a resume enhancement, allowing her to displace more deserving candidates, is indefensible; and I think her obsession calls her judgement and stability into question. But at least she wasn’t lying. About that.

Continue reading.

It appears the Warren plagiarized her cookbook recipes. And in so doing she's in violation of Harvard's own institutional policies on academic honesty: "Elizabeth Warren Violated Harvard's Rules on Plagiarism."

By now though, Harvard University has become one of the most academically corrupt institutions in American higher education --- the case of Stephen Walt alone testifies to that. So with no expectation that Harvard will take any action against Warren --- a call for resignation is at least warranted --- it'll be up to the patriots in conservative new media to continue hammering away on this case, putting pressure on the old-media outlets to finally report fully and accurately on this story.

More at Breitbart.

IMAGE CREDIT: Sultan Knish, "All Things to All People."

Chicago Newlywed Beth Alberts Rebukes Anti-Capitalist Protesters at NATO Summit: 'Let's Get Out of Here!'

Reports indicate she was "horrified" at the sight of the anti-capitalist pigs.

See London's Daily Mail, "Stop Occupying my wedding! Moment furious bride was caught up in anti-Nato protests as city goes into lock down for march today."

I'll Have Another Wins 137th Preakness Stakes

I'd swear this is the perfect horse race. I'll Have Another just hangs back about 3 or 4 lengths and pours it on around the final stretch for photo finish.

Man, I love horse racing.

See the New York Times, "Another Thriller, and More Believers."

And from Bill Dwyre, at the Los Angeles Times, "I'll Have Another has two legs up on history":

After a victory in the Preakness, the Santa Anita Derby winner has a chance to end a 34-year Triple Crown drought for horse racing. And his trainer might be a star in New York.

BALTIMORE -- The amazing story moved up to incredible. I'll Have Another ran true to his name.

On a Saturday that brought blue skies, perfect temperatures and a record crowd of 121,309 here at venerable Pimlico racetrack, the horse who has never been favored in a race and has been mostly under-appreciated by the public, even the racing public, won the 137th Preakness.

Now, it is I'll Have Another who will take a shot at history. The last horse to win the Triple Crown was Affirmed in 1978. There have been only 11, going back to Sir Barton in 1919. The last horse to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness was Big Brown in 2008, and he was mysteriously pulled up in the Belmont.

The story of I'll Have Another is becoming familiar, and it's about time. Owner J. Paul Reddam keynoted that quite simply afterward.

"He hasn't had the most respect," Reddam said.

Amazingly, the Kentucky Derby winner paid $8.40, $3.80 and $2.80. That's mostly because Bob Baffert's Bodemeister had the short odds in the field, as he did in the Derby.

But as in the Derby, I'll Have Another was not interested in anything less than the whole cookie, and when he ran down Baffert's speed demon once again and won by a neck, the people with reason to see him as less than Triple Crown quality were left without argument.

Reddam said, "I think there was a common feeling … that the horse won the Derby because he had a perfect trip. If he didn't get the perfect trip, he wouldn't have won…[Today] he shows he is the real deal."

Dennis O'Neill, who identified I'll Have Another for Reddam to purchase, said, "Going into today, I thought this horse was a really, really good horse going in. After today, he's proven to be a great horse."

Reddam made the purchase for $35,000, chump change for a well-bred thoroughbred. Reddam delivered him to his main trainer, Dennis' brother, Doug, who has not only trained this horse to perfection, but become a rock star in the process.

More on the horse's background here: "I'll Have Another Wins Kentucky Derby in Spectacular Come-From-Behind Upset."

'Refuel' — BMW, the Ultimate Driving Machine

I just saw this ad yesterday and loved it!

See the BMW Blog, "Video Ad: BMW 5 Series Refuel reintroduces the “Ultimate Driving Machine” slogan."

Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi Dies: Convicted Lockerbie Bomber Jerked Off the West

Really, Muammar Gaddafi was the supreme jerk, and he got what was coming to him.

And Al-Megrahi should have died a broken, incarcerated man, not a man living in freedom thumbing his nose at the West.

See the New York Times, "Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, Convicted in 1988 Lockerbie Bombing, Dies at 60" (via Memeorandum).

And see Michael Rubin a couple of weeks ago at Commentary, "Lockerbie Terrorist Again Near Death?":

When Megrahi eventually does die, the families of Lockerbie victims can go to sleep knowing a man responsible for the deaths of their loved ones is no longer among his own friends and families. That he has lived in relative freedom, however, means he will die not only as a terrorist, but also as the poster boy for Western fecklessness.

Also at PJ Media, "Freeing the Lockerbie Killer in the Name of ‘Compassion’."

Van Halen: 'She's the Woman'

My wife and I have that Van Halen concert coming up in a couple of weeks. The wife is especially excited since Kool and the Gang are opening. I'm just looking forward to hearing the classics. So far, the new album sounds just so so --- and the reviews I read a couple of months ago were a bit critical. Still, seeing these guys jamming after all these years is something else. And it hasn't been easy on them. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the band has cancelled 30 shows to avoid "burn out." See: "Van Halen to Reschedule About 30 Concert Dates." However, Rolling Stone is reporting infighting.

And the set from the Montreal concert, via Digital Van Halen:

1.Unchained

2. Runnin' With the Devil

3. She's The Woman

4. Romeo Delight

5.Tattoo

6. Everybody Wants Some!!

7. Somebody Get Me A Doctor

8. China Town

9. Hear About It Later

10. Oh, Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison)

11. Drum Solo

12. You Really Got Me (The Kinks)

13. The Trouble with Never

14. Dance The Night Away

15. I'll Wait

16. Hot For Teacher

17. Women In Love

18. Outta Love Again

19. Beautiful Girls

20. Ice Cream Man

(John Brim cover)

21. Panama

22. Guitar Solo

23. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love

24. Jump

I'll update when I know more.

Desmond Hatchett, Black Dude Who Fathered 30 Kids, Begs for State Help With Child Support

Jeez, this dude needs to put on a raincoat --- either that, or keep it holstered permanently.

See the Los Angeles Times, "Man who had 30 kids with 11 women wants child-support break" (via Memeorandum)

You have to say this much for Desmond Hatchett: He has a way with the ladies.

The 33-year-old Knoxville, Tenn., resident has reportedly set a Knox County record for his ability to reproduce. He has 30 children with 11 women. And nine of those children were born in the last three years, after Hatchett -- who is something of a local celebrity -- vowed "I'm done!" in a 2009 TV interview, saying he wouldn't father more children.

But Hatchett is back in the news this week because he's struggling to make ends meet on his minimum-wage job. His inability to make child-support payments on such a meager salary also means he's back in court again and again, most recently to ask for a break on those payments.

"Yes, we've got several cases with Mr. Hatchett," Melissa Gibson, an assistant supervisor with the Knox County child support clerk's office, said with a sigh.

Hatchett's attorney, Keith Pope, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Under the law, there's nothing officials can do to force Hatchett to keep his pants on.

"If there's something out there like that, I'm unaware of it," Gibson told The Times, before adding, "It definitely needs to be."

Darleen Click snarks: "A Leftist's dream..."

And it is. The report indicates that some of the mothers of Hatchett's children get as little as $1.50 a month. Somewhere along the way, probably as early as the first child, Hatchett and his hookups were relying on government to pay for their children, the hospital costs, for example (and pre-natal care), and unless the mothers are living with family members and self-sufficient, there's no doubt that the kids are being supported through public assistance. Indeed, that's why the county is all over this dude to get with the program. And I can guarantee you that if you say one word about the breakdown of individual responsibility in this case you'll be attacked as racist. It's almost unbelievable to think about what's happened to this country. That's almost unbelievable. As long as marriage is ridiculed by the enlightened progressive, and as these same left-wing idiots insist on perverting the institution through gay marriage radicalism, things will only get worse before they get better.

Trayvon Martin Shown in New Surveillance Video

See Ironic Surrealism, "Full Surveillance Video: Trayvon Martin 7-11 Ice Tea and Skittles Run."

And Doug Ross reports, "Innocent young Trayvon captured on video moments before he started beating George Zimmerman 'MMA-Style'."

Plus, from Alan Dershowitz, "New Evidence is Consistent with George Zimmerman’s Self Defense Claim" (via Memeorandum):

A medical report by George Zimmerman’s doctor has disclosed that Zimmerman had a fractured nose, two black eyes, two lacerations on the back of his head and a back injury on the day after the fatal shooting.  Moreover, the New York Times has reported that traces of marijuana were found in Trayvon Martin’s body and that Martin’s father initially said that the voice crying for help was not that of his son.  It is also been reported that a bruise was found on Martin’s ring finger that would be consistent with Martin having punched Zimmerman.  No other wounds, aside of course from the fatal bullet hole in the front of Martin’s body, were found.

If this evidence turns out to be valid, the prosecutor will have no choice but to drop the second-degree murder charge against Zimmerman — if she wants to act ethically, lawfully and professionally.

There is, of course, no assurance that the special prosecutor handling the case, State Attorney Angela Corey, will do the right thing. Because until now, her actions have been anything but ethical, lawful and professional.

She was aware when she submitted an affidavit that it did not contain the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. She deliberately withheld evidence that supported Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense. The New York Times has reported that the police had “a full face picture” of Zimmerman, before paramedics treated him, that showed “a bloodied nose.” The prosecutor also had photographic evidence of bruises to the back of his head.

But none of this was included in any affidavit.

Now there is much more extensive medical and forensic evidence that would tend to support Zimmerman’s version of events. This version, if true, would establish self-defense even if Zimmerman had improperly followed, harassed and provoked Martin.

A defendant, under Florida law, loses his “stand your ground” defense if he provoked the encounter — but he retains traditional self-defense if he reasonably believed his life was in danger and his only recourse was to employ deadly force.

Thus, if Zimmerman verbally provoked Martin, but Martin then got on top of Zimmerman and banged his head into the ground, broke his nose, bloodied his eyes and persisted in attacking Zimmerman — and if Zimmerman couldn’t protect himself from further attack except by shooting Martin — he would have the right to do that. (The prosecution has already admitted that it has no evidence that Zimmerman started the actual fight.)

Fatal School Bombing Stokes Fears of New Italy Violence

The New York Times reports, "Fatal School Bomb Attack Raises Fear of Strife in Italy":

BRINDISI, Italy — A bomb exploded Saturday in front of a school in this southern city, killing a student and wounding at least five others, local officials said, raising fears of a return to the kind of violence that shook Italy decades ago.

The explosion occurred near a vocational school named after Francesca Morvillo, a magistrate who was killed with her husband, Giovanni Falcone, an anti-Mafia prosecutor, by a Cosa Nostra bomb on May 23, 1992, an event Italy planned to commemorate on its 20th anniversary.

The bomb went off as students were preparing to enter the school on Saturday morning before classes. It consisted of three gas canisters tied together, set off by a rudimentary timer, and had been placed next to a wall not far from the school’s main gate, said an Italian official who asked not be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the news media.

Witnesses described the panic that followed the explosion as “an inferno,” while television stations broadcast the eerily silent aftermath, with knapsacks, textbooks and notebooks strewed across the asphalt in front of the school, pages flapping in the wind.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and the authorities said Saturday that investigators would examine all possibilities, including links to the Sacra Corona Unita, the organized crime syndicate rooted in the southern region of Puglia, and domestic or foreign terrorism.

“It’s difficult to form an idea because killing students is without precedent, and doesn’t correspond to any of the models of Italian terrorism,” said Salvatore Lupo, a professor of contemporary history at the University of Palermo. “There’s no logic, but with terrorist attacks there is no logic.”

Piero Grasso, the prosecutor who leads the anti-Mafia judicial agency, described the bombing as an act of “pure terrorism,” because, he said, “Every parent will think when they send their child to school: could they be in danger?”

Continue reading.

The report indicates that political strife has been rising during the economic crisis.

Check The Guardian as well, "Bomb left outside school in Italy kills girl and injures seven."

Glenn Reynolds Vacation Picture From the Cayman Islands

I need to go there. Man, what a beautiful photo.

See: "VARIOUS READERS HAVE ASKED FOR PICTURES FROM CAYMAN, but I didn’t take many on this trip."

I was one of those who asked about pictures. I emailed Glenn after he got back from vacation.

And that Instalanche I got yesterday was the best ever. I'm stunned at the number of visitors that he's been sending over to my site. It's been just a traffic-palooza all day and night --- or at least it was yesterday. That live traffic feed was spinning like a toy windmill at the beach in October.

Dana Loesch Administers Whupping of a Lifetime to Mediaite's Tommy Christopher

No comment necessary on this.

Just go read this post from Twitchy: "Dana Loesch verbally smacks Tommy Christopher for conspiratorial, condescending article."

And if you check this safe link, you will behold Charles "Jazzy McBikeshorts" Johnson's utterly deranged obsession with Dana Loesch.

Campbell Brown to Barack Obama: Stop Condescending to Women

Well, I actually miss Brown on CNN. She's a bubbly type, but seemed pretty professional overall.

See her essay at the New York Times, "Obama: Stop Condescending to Women" (via Memeorandum):

WHEN I listen to President Obama speak to and about women, he sometimes sounds too paternalistic for my taste. In numerous appearances over the years — most recently at the Barnard graduation — he has made reference to how women are smarter than men. It’s all so tired, the kind of fake praise showered upon those one views as easy to impress. As I listen, I am always bracing for the old go-to cliché: “Behind every great man is a great woman.”

Some women are smarter than men and some aren’t. But to suggest to women that they deserve dominance instead of equality is at best a cheap applause line.

My bigger concern is that in courting women, Mr. Obama’s campaign so far has seemed maddeningly off point. His message to the Barnard graduates was that they should fight for a “seat at the table” — the head seat, he made sure to add. He conceded that it’s a tough economy, but he told the grads, “I am convinced you are tougher” and “things will get better — they always do.”

Hardly reassuring words when you look at the reality. According to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, about 53.6 percent of men and women under the age of 25 who hold bachelor’s degrees were jobless or underemployed last year, the most in at least 11 years. According to the Pew Research Center, if we broaden the age group to 18- to 29-year-olds, an estimated 37 percent are unemployed or out of the work force, the highest share in more than three decades.

The human faces shouldn’t get lost amid the statistics. I spent last weekend with a friend who attended excellent private schools and graduated from Tufts University two years ago. She’s intelligent, impressive and still looking for a full-time job.

The women I know who are struggling in this economy couldn’t be further from the fictional character of Julia, presented in Mr. Obama’s Web ad, “The Life of Julia,” a silly and embarrassing caricature based on the assumption that women look to government at every meaningful phase of their lives for help.

Whoo!

You go, Campbell!

Continue reading the essay.

And see Taylor Marsh with a knockout idea: "The Choice for Romney is Liz Cheney."

That's sounds awesome. But I can hear the complaints now: She's never held elective office, not to mention she's a chip off the old block. But still, I just love Liz Cheney on just about everything. I imagine she'd even be outstanding on gay marriage, despite what old Dick has to say about it.

Anyway, rumor has it that Liz is heading back to Wyoming to consider a run for public office. Maybe Campbell should consider it as well.

PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons.

Kate Upton Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition 2012

I haven't posted that many Sports Illustrated videos this year. The editors aren't making them available on YouTube like they did last year. A few have been uploaded to individual users' accounts, so we'll see how this goes.

Kate Upton is here, in any case, at the SI YouTube page: "Kate Upton Reacts to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover."

Upton's profile at Sports Illustrated is here.

Amazon Get Ready for Summer Sale — Everything You Need!

And if you need any summer reading, I recommend Dennis Prager, Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph.

Criminal Attacks on Conservative Bloggers: Update on Brett Kimberlin Intimidation Network

Aaron Worthing's case continues to build attention across the web.

The background is here: "Convicted Terrorist Brett Kimberlin and the Left's Political (and Criminal) Intimidation Network."

Aaron has a full-blown video presentation on the case here.

And below, the video shows the surveillance images of the incident in which Kimberlin falsely claimed he was decked, the basis for the fraudulent criminal proceedings attempting to frame Aaron.

Plus, earlier today Robert Stacy McCain updated with a key investigative report, "Domestic Terrorist Now Using ‘Lawfare’? Convicted Felon Kimberlin’s 501(c)3 Raised $1.8 Million in Six Years." A snippet:

Kimberlin’s infamous criminal past could scarcely have been a secret to those who funded his organization. Kimberlin became a national political celebrity during the 1988 presidential campaign because of his claim, made while he was still serving time in federal prison, that he had once sold marijuana to Dan Quayle, who was then the Republican candidate for vice president.

Kimberlin offered no proof for that unsubstantiated allegation, but it drew the attention of award-winning journalist Mark Singer. A reporter for the New Yorker, Singer was initially sympathetic to Kimberlin, and the two men split an advance for a book deal to tell Kimberlin’s story. Singer ended the co-authorship deal after he became disillusioned by Kimberlin’s habitual dishonesty. In 1996, Singer published Citizen K: The Deeply Weird American Journey of Brett Kimberlin, which exposed Kimberlin as a “world-class liar” and “first-class con man.”

In fact, according to both Singer and Indianapolis Star reporter Joseph Gelarden, prosecutors suspected a particularly sinister motive for the Speedway Bomber’s terroristic rampage: To distract law enforcement officials who were investigating the July 29, 1978, murder of Julia Scyphers, the grandmother of a pre-teen girl toward whom, Gelarden wrote in 1981, Kimberlin had “strange affection . . . questionable relationship.”

Continue reading.

Also blogging:

* An Ex-Con's Views, "The War Today."

* Bill Quick, "Something In the Water In Naptown?"

* Camp of the Saints, "Connections: Soros, A Terrorist, Democrats and Obama???"

* Daley Gator, "So, just who is this Brett Kimberlin? And why should we care?"

* Dan Collins, "Update on the Speedway Bomber Brett Kimberlin Updates, and Site Notes."

* Lonely Conservative, "Why the Heck is Fidelity Investments Giving Funds to a Convicted Felon?"

* Nice Deb, "Lawfare: Dems With Criminal Records Target Conservative Bloggers."

* Patterico, "Convicted Bomber and Perjurer Brett Kimberlin Harasses Blogger for Telling Truth About Him."

* Patterico, "Today’s Quote from Citizen K: The Book About Convicted Bomber and Perjurer Brett Kimberlin."

* POH Diaries, "The Company We Keep."

* Riehl World View, "Conservative Blogs Learn Of Brett Kimberlin."

*****

Video c/o Aaron Worthing.

Drop your link in the comments if you're also blogging this story.

O'Neill Women 2012

Some ripping chicks, via Theo Spark:

Facebook's Faceplant: Social Networking IPO Falls Short of the Hype

I was watching CNN yesterday during all the coverage. The caption headlines were cracking me up. "Facebook faceplant" is putting it mildly. I can't remember a more disastrous public stock debut. I was picking up my son from Disneyland last night and on the way home I mentioned to him that Facebook's IPO flopped. He says, "Dad, would you speak English I don't know what you're talking about." I told him that the initial stock offering was hyped all out of proportion, that this was a major fail for Facebook. And my son responds, "Facebook ruins your life. I hate Facebook," or something like that. He recently temporarily deleted his account ("suspend" is one of the options if you hit the delete button). My son was getting burned by all these fake "friends" he has --- people who were making dates and appointments and plans and not following through. I think high school was like that without Facebook, if I recall. But you go through your teen your with the technology you have.

In any case, I personally don't love Facebook that much. (Twitter is so much better it's ridiculous.) I mostly just spam my posts up there and get a few hits out of it. I have connected with some great old friends, although that mostly shows me that my life's moved on from my own high school days.

The Wall Street Journal has the big report, "Facebook's IPO Sputters: Underwriters Forced to Prop Up IPO of Social Network; Only a 23-Cent Rise" (via Techmeme):

Facebook Inc. took eight years to stage one of the most anticipated initial public offerings ever. The anticlimax came Friday, as Wall Street bankers struggled to prevent the newly minted stock from ending its first day with a loss.

The stock had been widely predicted to soar on its first day. Instead, up until the closing moments of the trading session, Facebook's underwriters battled to keep the stock from slipping below its offering price of $38 a share. Such a stumble would have been a significant embarrassment, particularly for a prominent new issue like Facebook, the most heavily traded IPO of all time.

In the end, the bankers succeeded. When trading on Nasdaq ended at 4 p.m., the social network's stock was up just a hair, 0.6%, at $38.23.

The roller-coaster day—Facebook's shares started out jumping roughly 11%, before cooling off—was also beset by trading glitches and a 30-minute delay in the opening of trading. Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. didn't respond to requests for comment.

Facebook was also hurt by investors' high expectations of a healthy first-day pop in the price, according to people familiar with the matter. When that pop didn't happen, it prompted a selloff, these people said.

That's when Facebook's underwriters had to step in to support the company's share price, people familiar with the matter said. In particular, lead underwriter Morgan Stanley was assigned to be the deal's "stabilization agent"—meaning it was the firm's job to keep the shares above the offering price, these people said. In that role, Morgan Stanley was forced to buy Facebook shares as the price slid toward $38 in order to prevent the price from crossing into negative territory, according to these people.

Morgan Stanley, which led the platoon of 11 Wall Street banks that arranged the listing, had to dip into an emergency reserve of around 63 million Facebook shares—worth more than $2.3 billion at the offer price—to boost the price and create a floor around $38 a share, according to people close to the situation. In successful IPOs, the reserve, known as the "overallotment" or "green shoe," is used by underwriters to meet soaring demand but in this case, it was used to prop up Facebook's ailing share price.

The process is common in IPOs and works like this: The underwriters have the extra shares available to either sell or buy for a period after the IPO. If demand is strong, they sell them like all the other shares. But if the stock price falls, they can buy them back, effectively creating a floor for the price.

Facebook's price began falling almost immediately after shares began trading. It is unclear exactly when Morgan Stanley stepped in, but traders said that the price movements throughout the day, with the shares occasionally touching the IPO price but never crossing below it, suggested the firm was active throughout much of the session.

Facebook's opening-day travails suggested how tough it can be to live up to high expectations in the market. "There's been way, way too much hype, so it may be impossible not to have it be anticlimactic," said Peter Falvey, managing director of the Boston-based investment bank Falvey Partners LLC.

See also GigaOM, "Facebook IPO: Here is the best of the web" (via Techmeme).

Gay Marriage Bigots Slime Manny Pacquiao

Michelle has the report: "Bigoted anti-bigots: How the gay-marriage mob slimed Manny Pacquiao."

This bigoted anti-bigot brigade mimics a wave of similar campaigns against both social and fiscal heretics who refuse to conform to “progressive” values. Targets include Rush Limbaugh, the American Legislative Exchange Council, Mitt Romney donors, Wisconsin’s union-reforming governor, lieutenant governor and GOP state legislators, Catholic health care providers, and now black church leaders and boxers who dare to state their religious views publicly.

Let this be a teachable moment on pernicious “community organizing” and brazen liberal hypocrisy. There is nothing more intolerant and chilling than the self-appointed, self-unaware tolerance police.

After reading Michelle's piece I checked Google. The articles there mostly have the story all wrong, and the nation's unofficial newspaper of record essentially backs the left's smears against Pacquiao: "Pacquiao Is Put on Defensive Over Same-Sex Marriage View."

We're losing the First Amendment right to freedom of speech in this country. The Democrat-left is making sure of it.

Great Interview with Reince Priebus on Wolf Blitzer's 'Situation Room'

Priebus stays on message very effectively. I like him a lot.

Obama Gets Pass on Kenya from Democrat-Media-Complex

I wasn't planning on blogging this, since I'm not really into the birth certificate controversy. But this is much more. The Obamas have long played up Barack's Kenyan heritage, and obviously there's more to the literary press release than the Democrat-Media-Complex is letting on. I turns out that press agents Dystel & Goderich had clients submit their own biographies. It's not a "typo" as the f-king dishonest Democrats are trying to pawn off. See: "Media Works to Suppress Obama 'Born in Kenya' Bio."

And even if we forget about where Obama was born, the question is why was it so important for Barack to play up the Kenyan connection?

See Mark Steyn on that, "Eternally shifting sands of Obama's biography":

It used to be a lot simpler. As E.C. Bentley deftly summarized it in 1905: "Geography is about maps. But Biography is about chaps."

But that was then, and now Biography is also about maps. For example, have you ever thought it would be way cooler to have been born in colonial Kenya?

Whoa, that sounds like crazy Birther talk; don't go there! But Breitbart News did, and it turns out that the earliest recorded example of Birtherism is from the president's own literary agent, way back in 1991, in the official bio of her exciting new author:

"Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review, was born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii."

So the lunatic theory that Barack Obama doesn't meet the minimum eligibility requirements to be president of the United States was first advanced by Barack Obama's official representative. Where did she get that wacky idea from? "This was nothing more than a fact-checking error by me," says Obama's literary agent, Miriam Goderich, a "fact" that went so un-"checked" that it stayed up on her agency's website in the official biography of her by-then-famous client up until 2007:

"He was born in Kenya to an American anthropologist and a Kenyan finance minister."

And then in April 2007, someone belatedly decided to "check" the 16-year-old "fact" and revised the biography, a few weeks into the now non-Kenyan's campaign for the presidency. Fancy that!

When it comes to conspiracies, I'm an Occam's Razor man. The more obvious explanation of the variable first line in the eternally shifting sands of Obama's biography is that, rather than pretending to have been born in Hawaii, he's spent much of his life pretending to have been born in Kenya.

After all, if your first book is an exploration of racial identity and has the working title "Journeys In Black And White," being born in Hawaii doesn't really help. It's entirely irrelevant to the twin pillars of contemporary black grievance – American slavery and European imperialism. To 99.99 percent of people, Hawaii is a luxury vacation destination and nothing else. Whereas Kenya puts you at the heart of what, in an otherwise notably orderly decolonization process by the British, was a bitter and violent struggle against the white man's rule. Cool! The composite chicks dig it, and the literary agents.

And where's the harm in it? Everybody does it – at least in the circles in which Obama hangs. At Harvard Law School, where young Barack was "the first African-American president of The Harvard Law Review," there's no end of famous firsts: As The Fordham Law Review reported, "Harvard Law School hired its first woman of color, Elizabeth Warren, in 1995." There is no evidence that Mrs. Warren, now the Democrats' Senate candidate, is anything other than 100 percent white. She walks like a white, quacks like a white, looks whiter than white. She's the whitest white since Frosty the Snowman fell in a vat of Wite-Out. But she "self-identified" as Cherokee, so that makes her a "woman of color." Why, back in 1984 she submitted some of her favorite dishes to the "Pow Wow Chow" cookbook, a "compilation of recipes passed down through the Five Tribes families."

Continue reading.

At the video above, Michelle Obama lauds Barack as a "Kenyan" at a campaign event in 2007. Skip to the 2:00 minute mark.

And see Blazing Cat Fur, "The Mystery of the Kenyan Birth" (with a Glenn Beck video at that link).

Also, at Melissa Clouthier's, "Barack Obama, Birther — UPDATED."

More, from Roger Simon, at PJ Media, "The Mystery of the Kenyan Birth."

'And I Would Give Everything I Own...'

Inspired by Spread Butter on Twitter:

You sheltered me from harm.
Kept me warm, kept me warm.
You gave my life to me.
Set me free, set me free.
The finest years I ever knew,
Were all the years I had with you.

And I would give anything I own.
I'd give up my life, my heart, my home.
I would give everything I own,
Just to have you back again.

You taught me how to laugh.
What a time, what a time.
You never said too much,
But still you showed the way
And I knew from watching you.

Nobody else could ever know,
The part of me that can't let go.

And I would give anything I own,
I'd give up my life, my heart, my home.
I would give everything I own,
Just to have you back again...

Will Smith Slaps Kissing Dude Across the Face at Moscow Premiere of 'Men in Black 3'!

Like I've been saying, you have to smack down these gay freaks or they'll come after you like the plague.

Sheesh. Getting fresh with the Prince!

At Fox News, "Will Smith slaps male reporter for kissing him."

Los Angeles Times Homepage Features Megan Ellison, Billionaire Heiress and Film Producer, With Arafat-Style Keffiyeh

The Times' report is here: "Megan Ellison is energizing indie film world":

The daughter of Silicon Valley billionaire Larry Ellison, she is helping to reinvigorate the independent film business with her deep pockets and highbrow tastes.

Wearing the scarves is like advertising you hate both America and Israel, as Michelle wrote in 2008:

Anti-American fashion designers abroad and at home have mainstreamed and adapted the scarves as generic pro-Palestinian jihad or anti-war statements. Yet many folks out there remain completely oblivious to the apparel’s violent symbolism and anti-Israel overtones.

Lame.

Mitt Romney's 'Day One'

CSM reports, "'Day One': What Mitt Romney's new ad really tells us."

#WarOnWomen: Comedienne Kathy Griffin Misidentifies Obama as 'Harvard Law Professor' in Rant Attacking Elisabeth Hasselbeck as 'Stupid B*tch' and 'C*nt'

Talk about putting your progressive foot in your mouth.

And you'd think someone would have pointed out to Griffin that President Obama wasn't in fact a "Harvard law professor." (He was the president of the Harvard Law Review, but he did not teach at Harvard.) Indeed, Elisabeth Hasselbeck would have probably pointed it out to Griffin if she'd had the nerve to all call her a "b*tch' and "c*nt" to her face. (And Hasselbeck could have said, in a condescending tone, "Actually, Kathy, that's not true.") Obama taught law at the University of Chicago for 12 years, from 1992 to 2004. And to be precise, Obama wasn't even a "professor." He was an adjunct "lecturer" and later a "senior lecturer," both of which signify temporary or untenured status --- and are much less prestigious titles than, say, a tenured associate or full professor of law. The fine points of academic appointments obviously escape Ms. Griffin, but I'm not going to call her a "stupid b*tch."

See Newsbusters, "Kathy Griffin Aims Vulgar Name-Calling at ABC's Hasselbeck."

The Huffington Post also indicates that the bleeped out word at the end of the clip was "c*nt". See: "Kathy Griffin to Elisabeth Hasselbeck: 'Take It Down a Notch B***H' (VIDEO)."

UPDATE: This post is linked at Instapundit. Thanks!

And Ann Althouse blogged it from there, "'With her attitude to the President, who was, like, a Harvard law professor, I'm like, take it down a notch, bitch'." Althouse actually shows Griffin some respect: "First, Kathy Griffin has a comic style. You either like it or you don't." I don't, obviously. But I think Althouse makes a good point here:

Third — and here's where it gets really interesting to me — he was a Harvard law professor. Put aside the mistakes. This notion that you've got to pay special respect to law professors... as a law professor, I'm fascinated. Now, maybe it's just Harvard law professors that command this odd obeisance. Who knows how far down the U.S. News "Best Law Schools" list you go before Kathy's Etiquette of Respecting the Law Professor peters out? Maybe there's a gentle gradation of decreasing respect as you slide down through the top five, into the basement of the top 15 and beyond. I don't know if there are any shreds of servility to be strewn before those of us in the 30s. But the whole idea amuses me.

At this point in my career I don't have to worry about college rankings. But they were a big deal when I was at UCSB. The Political Science Department was ranked 41st by the National Research Council --- and members of the department thought they were underrated, which wasn't a bad estimation at the time. I didn't check at the time, but the NRC updated its rankings in 2010, posted at The Monkey Cage, "The NRC Rankings of Political Science Departments." And here more at the Chronicle of Higher Education, "Doctoral Programs by the Numbers." UCSB comes in at #39 according to factors measuring if the program has "similar features to programs viewed by faculty as top-notch." UC Berkeley ties for 1st by that measure. UCLA comes in at #8.

UPDATE II: Bill Quick links. Thanks!

Orange County Woman Burned After Rocks Spontaneously Ignite in Her Pocket

This is a trip.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Mystery of beachgoer's flaming rocks remains unsolved":

What could possibly cause rocks picked up at a popular state beach to ignite in the pocket of a woman's cargo shorts?

To scientists, the answer is — well, there is no clear answer.

The case of an Orange County woman severely burned after rocks collected last weekend from San Onofre State Beach ignited in her pocket has puzzled scientists, who say they've never seen anything like it and aren't quite sure how it happened.

"It's pretty implausible," said Larry Overman, a professor of chemistry at UC Irvine.

The 43-year-old San Clemente woman, who remained hospitalized Thursday with second- and third-degree burns, visited the northern San Diego County beach last Saturday with her family, authorities said. Her name has not been released.

Her children collected rocks, including two that were distinctive — one was large and a marbled gray; the other much smaller and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle green.

Both of the beach stones were streaked and flecked with bright orange.

The mother put the rocks in her right pocket and went home. Then they suddenly ignited.

Witnesses reported seeing flames coming from her shorts. She had second- and third-degree burns from her right knee to her right thigh, with second-degree burns on her hands. Her husband also had burns on his hands from trying to help her.

The Orange County Health Care Agency examined the two rocks, and tests revealed a "phosphorous substance" on the rocks, which now have been sent to a state laboratory for further testing, said Tricia Landquist, an agency spokeswoman.

Mentioned at the piece is the possibility that the rocks came into contact with military ordnance containing phosphorus. Camp Pendleton is nearby. (And so is the San Onofre nuclear plant, which is currently closed due to minute radioactive leaks --- so there you go!)

See also the video at KTLA Los Angeles: "Hot Rocks: Woman Burned After Rocks Spontaneously Combust."